Witch Trials
by Coffeebeads
Summary: Back in Salem witch burning days, the Teen Titans were just close friends that had powers that no one but themselves knew about. But one day Raven is accused of witchcraft, what will she do when Kori confesses in her place? Finished!
1. Prologue

**Witch Trials **

Disclaimer – I do not own the Teen Titans, at least not in reality. Oh they say I'm crazy, just because I dream of creating a league of monsters, big super-creatures, octagonal-shaped with big pointy horns…

**Prologue**

Five best friends stood together to hold witness an accused witch being burnt alive on the stake. Richard, a young boy with messy black hair, no older than 16 years of age. He looked to the side to see his best friend, Kori, as she twitched nervously with her hands cupped around her mouth. Her auburn hair shone in the flames, tears fell down her eyes, she was shaking violently but her long legs stayed firmly on the soft soil. Next to her was Victor. He was a coloured, tall, athletic man. He stood proud, head and shoulders above all of his friends. By his side sat Garfield, the village clown, the village idiot, believe to have swallowed his fair share of frogs at young age and turned green permanently. Need I go into any more detail? He was twirling his fingers in the soil absent-mindedly as the innocent woman in front of him stood screaming into the night. What would he care? She wasn't hot. There are plenty more woman out there who are prettier than she, when one of those ladies will be accused, he'd speak up. But until that day, he was perfectly comfortable playing with mud. Then there was Raven, she was the most nervous out of all of her friends. But she didn't show it. She couldn't show it. Of course, she was physically able to show whatever the heck she wanted to show of her emotions, she just didn't want her emotions getting the better of her.

All of these teenagers were the best of friends. They stood there wearing uncomfortable woolly outfits of either white, grey or brown. Raven wore a customary bonnet over her head but apart from that, she wore exactly what Kori wore, a long dress of brown and a white apron. The guys wore long trousers, a stiff button shirt and a blazer. Looking among the crowd, this is what everyone else was wearing. Customising it in any way would pronounce you a witch. It was mostly men around the crowd.

The death sentence was carried out and all that was left was blood stains on the ground and flesh and bone singed externally and internally. The crowd thinned out and at the end all who were left were the five friends. Starfire looked down at the bloody flesh and sighed, "How could anyone be so cruel?"

---WT---

I hope you liked the prologue, please review.

What have we learnt?

This is in Salem Witch Trial days.

No one knows that anyone else has powers. E.g. Starfire knows that she has powers, no one else does.

Cyborg is not a robot – back then, if you were in such a bad condition, you wouldn't be built a replacement robot half, you'd just die.

Beast Boy is as rude to women – not "hot" ones – as ever.


	2. Suspicions

**Witch Trials **

Disclaimer – I do not own the Teen Titans, not now not ever. Well actually…

**Chapter One – Suspicions**

The friends walked back home after the sixth witch burning ceremony this week. Chances were that eventually one of the friends would be killed down too, one of the girls. Both were pretty suspicious, what with Kori's pronunciations and misunderstandings of life's most basic things and with Raven's constant pessimistic attitude.

The friends arrived home, a big ordinary house. (A/N the Titans Tower would look pretty suspicious!) They each had separate rooms with separate beds and separate junk on the tables. None of the friends were in any kind of relationship, but the house was normally filled with plenty of sexual tension.

Garfield went to Victor's room to hang a metal bucket of water over the door to prank Victor when he came in. Quickly he hid into the shadows and sneaked back into his room, Victor was currently downstairs reading.

Kori stepped into her room and collapsed onto the bed where she hugged a small wooden puppet of herself. She looked down at it and thought she saw an evil angry expression on the face as opposed to the usual cheery smile. Kori suddenly felt a wave of fury that seemed to come out of nowhere and she tossed the puppet across the room and into the wall. As the toy rolled down on the hard wooden floor, Kori looked at it again from her bed to see a friendly smile playing across the doll's now-cracked face. She walked to her windowsill and looked at the village. She looked at the vicar who was slowly making his way around the street, he waved to her. She did not respond to this, she spared him an evil frown and shut the window tightly. As she did so, the vicar could have sworn her eyes glowed green.

Raven walked into her room and locked the door swiftly behind her. She leaned her back against the door and sighed. '_That will be me someday. Burning on the stake as the wind harshly beats against my raw flesh,' _she thought.It was almost poetic. The young girl knew her fate was sealed as soon as she discovered her unusual abilities. She was telekinetic and could read and even enter other people's minds. It was an uncommon gift to have any actual power among the witches. Raven stretched her arms in front of her and exercised her powers. Ebony clouds raced across her fingers. She closed her hands into fists and walked over to the windowsill. She sat there and looked over the village. The ashes were still full of red sparks on the small island in the lake. The witch burning ceremony takes place there every night, every two nights if the vicar was unsuccessful in hunting down the witch before midnight. This was how it worked here. Hunt a witch down and burn her before midnight or be promised nightmares in your sleep. All stupid superstitions of course.

Raven stretched out her fingers once more and telekinetically shut the window. Little did she know that there was the vicar standing across the street making sure everyone was asleep and not running amok in the village. Watching a girl shut the window with sinister black waves of power must have been pretty suspicious. But luckily for her, it was very dark and the vicar was partly blind. He could have believed it was a hallucination.

As she turned off the light and went to bed, and slowly all of the other lights in the house turned off, there was silence.

"Ahhh! Oh man! Cold! Cold! Cold… Whoever put that there is gonna be in a lot of trouble!"


	3. Prejudice

**Witch Trials **

Disclaimer – I do not own the Teen Titans, if I did then you would not like it. I'm a rubbish director.

Thankyou all who reviewed, keep up the good job! Thankyou all who read. It's nice to see some people out there who can.

**Chapter Two – Prejudice**

Everyone was up very early the next morning. Of course it was early to our modern day standards but to them it was just like always. Good old 5:00 am.

Raven and Kori went to get water from the fountain, they both had a stick over their shoulders with one big empty bucket at each end. When they reached the fountain, there was a long queue. They waited patiently right at the back. A strong muscular man joined onto the end behind Raven carrying the same buckets on a stick.

The line slowly thinned and finally there was only one person in front. She looked like a strong woman but as soon as the buckets were full she seemed to be struggling under the weight. Raven and Kori went up next. "Kori, I don't think you should fill it up to the top, it's heavy enough for you as it is." Said Raven watching Kori fill the bucket to the brim.

"I can handle it," replied Kori.

"Hey, beautiful. How's about I carry that for you, or else you might be crushed under the weight," suggested the man behind them, "we wouldn't want such a pretty little bird like yourself getting hurt, now would we?" Raven was getting frustrated. "For you see, women aren't as strong as men and me, being the gentleman I am, would like to help!" now he did it.

Raven's eyes glowed black for a second. A second later, the man had flown several feet away from them. He didn't seem to notice that she didn't touch him, "It's okay, you don't have to be afraid of me, I won't hurt you!" another second and he bumped into a wall and landed with a bucket on his head. "Now don't you think you're taking this the wrong way, little miss?"

That was it, Raven put down her buckets and left in the direction of the man. Kori took the half-full buckets and filled those to the brim as well. She then put each stick on one shoulder balancing perfectly. The people around her were astonished that she wasn't crushed under the weight. "How'd you do that?" one asked. "She doesn't look that strong!" said another. "Anyone can do that!" claimed the person next in line, "just watch me." She took the buckets from the person behind her and filled both. But she wasn't even able to pick both off the ground. "Whoa!" shouted a couple of spectators as they watched Kori hold both sticks without losing a drop of water.

Kori stood there staring at all of the people. What was so amazing? "Hey can you carry another one?" one person asked hopefully, she handed the buckets on a stick to Kori, they were also filled to the brim.

"No, really, I must be on my way." Stuttered Kori as she tried to retreat. The crowd cried ooww in unison. "Well okay?" said Kori as she carelessly picked up the buckets that someone handed to her. The crowd all stood amazed.

Kori blushed and put the buckets down. She walked over to Raven to see the man that was talking to her earlier was running away barefooted with a bucket on his head and some undergarments showing high above his trouser line. "Raven, what did you do to that man?" she asked.

"I didn't do anything. He was being rude to me and therefore nature found it fit to push him backwards away from me." Stated Raven.

"You did not touch him?" asked Kori.

"Nature also found it fit to slam him into a wall, stick a bucket on his head and give him several consecutive atomic wedgies," she continued.

"So you did not do anything?" wondered Kori.

"This was none of my dealings," claimed Raven. She took a bucket-on-a-stick from Kori and kept walking.

They arrived home to see the floor littered with mouse traps laden with cheese. Victor was smirking underneath a table. "My friend, please explain these tiny cheesy contraptions spread across the floor." Said Kori.

"Ever since yesterday, Garfield hasn't been seen. I'm trying to catch him wherever he is." Stated Victor.

"Then what's with the mousetraps? Garfield never eats cheese, he's a vegan." Informed Raven.

"Oh man! Now what am I gonna do?" asked Victor.

No one answered, "please, where is Richard?" asked Kori.

"He's in his room. Research, he said." Stated Victor.

Kori walked up the stairs to Richard's room. She knocked twice. She heard a faint 'who's there?' "It is I, Kori." Proclaimed Kori.

"Come in." Kori walked into Richard's room and saw all of the walls were plastered with pictures and text clippings. Most from the local newspaper. All of them had statements like, 'Thirty witches burnt so far, that'll show God who's side we're on!'

"Richard, what is all of this?" Asked Kori. She was a little nervous, she had always thought that witch burning was a distinct possibility for her in the future. She was a bit scared of all of these pictures of burnt bodies and screaming women.

"Nothing!" shouted Richard, frustration in his voice. Kori backed away a bit, "nothing, there's nothing at all. No proof. No evidence. It's all for nought." Confusion took over Kori.

"Please explain, Richard." Said Kori.

"Last nights witch burning!" he stated. "Amelia Keratins, age 16, married, five children, devoted to her parenthood, burned alive for having a wart on her nose. There was no witch-related evidence!" Kori completely understood, "and remember Thompson, Katie Thompson? Thrown off a cliff. You know why? She had a disagreement with the Mayor over a card game! Widget Coppery, stabbed with a wooden stake for drinking tomato juice that looked suspiciously like blood. I know, I know, that's vampire but still. Witch burning and vampire slaying and dragon hunting and Sea monster fishing andboarder collie eating! They're doing it all without reason! The sport just isn't taken seriously anymore!"

Kori was crestfallen at the last phrase, "Richard, I consider it more as prejudice than unsportsmanship." She deadpanned. At that she left the room.

As she turned around in the corridor, she saw a little Garfield crouching on the window sill in his room. The curtains were lumpy and it was obvious he was there. "Gar, why are you hiding?" asked Kori.

"It's Vic, he's still angry about the joke I played on him yesterday." Said the curtains.

"If I were you, I would apologise. And if I were you, I would watch out for mousetraps."


	4. Dangerous Accusations

**Witch Trials **

Disclaimer – I do not own the Teen Titans but I do have freedom of speech. I'm not so sure if I have freedom to write whatever I want thought so don't sue, please!

**Chapter Three – Dangerous Accusations**

When Kori went out at 7:00 pm to milk the cows she was startled to see the vicar standing in front of the gate post at the end of the front garden as if expecting her.

"Kori, my dear," he said in a false sweet voice, "could you please call upon Raven and join me?"

Kori was taken aback at this request but did as she was told. Soon she emerged with Raven by her side. They went up to the vicar. "Now girls, I'm not usually one to accuse-" Raven was about to argue but changed her mind at the last minute, "but we have had some allegations concerning you and your friend. We wish to invite you to witch trial to-night."

"Witch trial? To-night? You truly believe that we are witches?" disputed Kori.

"I'm afraid so. I have received word that you-" he was cut off short by Raven.

"How could you possibly think that _we_ are witches? This is outrageous. We are not going to any trial. You and your stupid witch hunting committee will wipe out all females in the village soon!" shouted Raven getting really frustrated.

"Listen, my loyal committee will claim witchcraft to whoever we see fit to claim upon. If you have any problem with that then you will have to see-" once again he was interrupted.

"Oh, your so-called loyal committee, if it can so-be-called, is just a bunch of arrogant sexist men walking around wearing fur coats and going into an overdramatic fit every time they walk by a woman with a slightly irregular nose length! You couldn't find less talent if you walked into the local drama club!" Raven was bubbling with rage. Throughout all of this Kori remained silent taking everything into careful consideration.

The vicar looked slightly offended, "Look young lady, I don't see where you're getting all your facts but I think you need to straighten out your story! The witch hunters are proud and dedicated men who are _all genuine witch smellers! _All of the witch cases ending in the evil witch's death are also genuine and me and my friends at the drama club are actually all very gifted artists."

"You couldn't act for the dung-eater's daughter! All you do is stand there with your legs two feet apart, shout at the audience and stress all of the wrong words. I remember you in last years Shakespeare production!"

"If that is how you feel than fine, you may see some of the committee pawing through your items of belonging before the trial looking for evidence against you later on in the day!" shouted the vicar and stormed out.

Kori stared at Raven while she was calming down. They turned around to see all of the guys staring out of the windows. As soon as they saw the girls staring back at them they quickly zoomed away from the windows.

As the girls walked inside they came upon a seemingly casual scene. Victor was sweeping the kitchen floor, Garfield was cooking soy-based food products and Richard was reading a book.

"You know Richard, most people read books the _right_ way up." Said Raven as she took the book turned it the right way up and gave it back.

"He he, yeah. Anyway, what happened outside?" asked Richard.

"Nothing, nothing much. Oh and if you have any personals lying around your rooms, you'd better go and tidy them away. The witch hunting committee is going to be coming round soon to look for evidence. Or make some." Deadpanned Raven.

"The witch hunting committee?" asked Richard but he received no answer, Raven had already left the room. "They think she's a witch?" He once again received no answer for Kori had also left the room.

Raven was pawing through her books and took out a huge shelf of books and lay them on the bed. Spell books. Definite witchcraft evidence. Too dangerous. She would have to hide them. When no one was looking, she took the books outside, wrapped an empty soil bag over them and buried them in the fresh pig mud. She went back upstairs to hear a faint sniffling.

Kori was crying in her room. She had knelt down by her window not really paying attention to the outside world where Raven had just buried a large sack. She was thinking about all of the good things that she had done with her friends and all of the good things that she will never do with her friends if the biased witch hunters accuse her of witchcraft.

Raven heard her cries and knocked on the door.

Kori quickly wiped her eyes of tears and let Raven enter. Raven paused at the door and then walked in and knelt down beside Kori. Put her arm around Kori loosely. Suddenly Kori hugged Raven in a tight death hug. Raven accepted the hug willingly. She felt for Kori. She knew her pain.

There was a sudden knock on the front door, well not so much a knock than knocking the door back against it's hinges. Men swept the house looking for anything incriminating.

The village clock chimed for ten o'clock. The witch trial was about to begin. Raven and Kori stood together in the guilty box. A big wooden square that enclosed the defendants at three sides. The judge was the vicar. Unlucky. "the persecuted are found guilty of the crimes of witchcraft. How do you plead?" he asked.

"Innocent of anything indecent and may I say, those are some dangerous accusations!" added Raven.


	5. Process

**Witch Trials **

Disclaimer – Teen Titans + ownership -me

**Chapter Four - Process**

So the two girls stood in the accused box and awaited their fate.

"So, you plead innocent? Well let's see how the witnesses of witchcraft feel about that?" spoke the vicar with a slight hint of passion in his voice, either for the job or for sentencing witches to their doom.

A tall man came to the court where the whole village stood gathered. The man looked familiar and Raven remembered him as the man whom fate saw fit to humiliate.

The vicar spoke, "Mr. Turner, you believe you were attacked by a witch?" the man nodded anxiously, "Can you see this witch anywhere in the court?" he asked. Once again Mr. Turner nodded. "Can you point her out to the court, please?" the man stretched out his arm and pointed it slowly at everyone in the court before landing it on Raven.

"There she is, that's her. She's the one. No need to look any further." He muttered and the crowd all joined in muttering.

"Please explain what she has done to you." Beckoned the vicar.

"In the dead of night, she caught me refilling my buckets of water for my children's baths. She sent legions of bats at me and sent me flying into a wall without even touching me. She gave me a harsh beating and blinded me!" he began.

But Raven interrupted, "This is ridiculous! It wasn't night time, the sun was still up!" she was about to continue when she was interrupted.

"She confirmed it!" shouted the vicar.

"Listen to me!" cried Raven desperately over all of the gasps and mutterings in the crowd, "It was only morning, he was flirting with me and so betraying his marriage vows if he even _does_ have a family and children. I do not have any power over animals and do _not_ keep legions of bats with me. I admit I did push him into a wall for his rudeness and as for blinding him, ha! All I did was stick a bucket on his head."

"And in doing so you blinded me!" cried Mr. Turner.

"Then how could you have seen me and pointed to me amidst this crowd?" asked Raven.

"Arr! She's doing something to me!" cried Mr. Turner, "Look! She gave me the skin of a goose!" He stretched out his arm and showed the crowd a few goose pimples. They all gasped in unison. "I'm itchy, oh so itchy and cold!" he shouted scratching himself vigorously.

"Please, I have learnt long ago that those are caused by the feeling of fear or cold," defended Kori.

"Even so, a woman striking fear into a man's heart is unfounded, she surely is a witch!" countered the vicar. The girls tried desperately in defence, even their friends joined in and soon the crowd was so noisy, no one could be heard, "SILENCE!" shouted the vicar. The noise level went down and soon was cut off altogether. "There is more evidence against the other witch."

The vicar paced the court to add to all the drama and then came to the crowd, "Now, whom out of all of you saw a display of strength above any mortal level from this here girl?" he pointed to Kori. The crowd nodded in unison and whispered agreement. "Surely these powers of strength come from Beelzebub down in hell. A crime it is to commit to pass such strength onto someone unworthy, as some might say, put something dangerous in the wrong hands? Who else could do such a thing as to give strength that could be used against us, but Beelzebub? Would it be a lie if you said you are innocent when you yourself have given promises of loyalty to the devil himself?" he shouted. The crowd showed fear and hatred.

"Prove it!" someone in the crowd shouted.

"Prove it?" mimicked the vicar.

"Prove she's strong!" they shouted.

"Quick, bring forth some weights!" shouted the vicar. Someone brought a very large pig with a rope around it's neck into the court. "Pick. It. Up." Stated the vicar to Kori.

She nervously came out from behind the box and walked into the centre of the circular court. She looked at the pig, "I cannot."

"You cannot, or you will not. Is this an attempt at fleeing from the truth?" questioned the vicar.

"I will not," she corrected, the crowd gasped, "It would be cruel."

"Surely someone who cares so much for animals could not be a witch," cried Richard from the midst of the crowd.

"Ah, but what if she is deceiving you with a plan to make you all believe she loves animals but in reality, she just wants to look innocent?" asked the vicar. No one answered. "As I thought. Pick. Up. The. Pig." He said again.

Kori reluctantly walked up to the pig and pretended that she was struggling to pick it up when really she could have done it easily. After a few seconds of flying two inches of the ground, the pig started to panic and so Kori released him.

"Today, you all did see the strength of this witch. She lifted the heaviest pig when no man could have. I say this is proof enough!" screamed the vicar dramatically to the crowd. "But first let us pass judgement upon the witches. Give them the option of coming forth or reluctantly burning at the stake."

"I did not commit witchcraft!" shouted Raven desperately. Kori said nothing.

"Ah, we have a rebellious witch here!" shouted the vicar, "What do you propose we do to her?" the crowd starts to shout 'burn her', "No wait, let us not make ourselves out to be primate men, the rebellious witch, Goodie-Raven is entitled to due process."

The witches were taken to the village square where there was a blocked up well. It wasn't used for years ever since the dead rats were found in it. It had no cute little roof over it and was just a circular table. Tiny drops of rain started to fall from the cloudy sky and turned the dirt beneath their feet to mud. Kori's hair was flattening but Raven's (which was still in it's bonnet) was not.

"Now, this is how the process works, rebellious witch-" started the vicar.

"I have a name," spat Raven viciously.

"We will put wood on the well and set it alight, we will then take a knife and lace it deep across your right hand. You are to put you right arm deep into the flame and wait for a full minute. When the time is up, you are to remove your hand and we will extinguish the flame with water. If the smoke that rises is thick, grey and has an aroma of burning wood then you are a witch, and if the smoke is thin and odourless then you are innocent and free to go with what's left of your hand."

"That's unfair, if you burn wood then it is bound to smell like burning wood!" shouted Victor defensively.

"Ah, but if you burn a witched blood, it is also bound to smell like burning wood." Countered the victor.

"What makes you think that?" asked Garfield.

"Logic, my friend. We kill witches by fire because witches burn well. So does wood. Therefore, if my logic is accurate, witches are made of wood!"

"But how is the test accurate if you also burn wood?" asked Richard.

"Because if an innocent person's blood touches burning wood it does not burn and will counter the burning smell, it may even extinguish the flame altogether."

**(A/N. Sorry if it's confusing. I'm sort of having trouble thinking up a process. Basically, witches are made of wood and so the blood burns well. Innocent people are not made out of wood and so the blood will stop the burning wood smell. Still confusing, huh?)**

"Now, lift up your shirt sleeve and put your right hand in the fire, dear girl," beckoned the vicar.

"This is inhumane, it's unethical. You can't just-" stuttered Raven as the vicar grabbed her arm.

"Stop!" someone cried, "She is _not_ a witch!" Kori walked forward. "It was me." She practically whispered it, the gathering crowd gasped dramatically, "I was with Raven this morning when she was confronted by Mr. Turner. I cast my spell on him for his mean words of inferiority towards women. It was all me." The crowd were flabbergasted but the vicar was grinning insanely.

"Full, confession!" he shouted, "Raven is innocent, Kori is guilty. Step forward. It is vital nonetheless to determine whether you are telling the truth or defending your friend." These last three words really cut into Raven there was a war waging in her mind but Kori seemed to know what she was doing so only time will tell their fates.

The vicar grabbed Kori's right hand unexpectedly and sliced a knife across the palm. Kori screamed but tried to hold it in by squeezing her lips together. It stung badly, and the rain was only making it worse. He thrust the hand into the flame and his own hand retreated. The vicar ensured that she would keep it in by holding the top of her arm tightly.

Tears streamed down Kori's cheeks and pain was written in her face. But she did not scream. She was taking the pain and attempting to mentally numb her hand. She stood almost bravely and solidly and yet innocence was present.

The world was silent. The friends looked at Kori with all of their pity and guilt. To Kori, all she could hear was the crackle of the fire and the trickle of water on the ground.

The minute was up and Kori's hand was removed from the flame. It was red and the skin was pealing off like a glove. It was completely raw flesh in seconds. Kori held it tightly in her other hand and wrapped her apron around it. She squeezed in attempt to numb it further but it was unbearable. Nevertheless she stood strong and abandoned her hand. She looked towards the flame which was about to be extinguished with a bucket of water. Blood trickled from Kori's fingers ferociously and soon she became very pale in the face.

The bucket was poured onto the fire and with it came an explosion! A small purple-red explosion sent the closest person flying backwards, Kori. Her eyes were shut tight and her body hurt very painfully. She could her gasps of shock and concern and someone calling her name, 'Kori!' but that was all she heard before she backed out from blood loss.

_**------------------------------------**_

**Which was ironically what they did to cure diseases back then. A couple of leeches should do the trick. **

**I hope you liked reading the chapter as much as I liked writing it.**

**That was the longest chapter I have ever written for Fanfiction. **

**1783 words minus the bottom bit!**

**Thanks for all of the reviews so far!**

**I sat back looking at the stars and began to think.. where the HECK is my roof!**


	6. An Innocent's Death

**Witch Trials **

Disclaimer: Teen Titans is a creation of several people's hard work and considerable talent. I could not have written it : a) because I don't work hard, b) because all my talents are musical, c) I am not several people.

Sorry for not updating so quickly, please forgive me and read and review. In this chapter, I'm going to take a slight turn and miss out abbreviations and stuff to look more old fashioned. Bare with me.

**Chapter Five – An Innocent's Death**

A great explosion shook the island that night. The purple flames danced as the wind blew it into gentle curves while at all time looking menacing and unearthly. Kori lay meters away unconscious and burnt. She looked almost scary and it was unbearable for her friends to see.

"She is guilty! The flame tells truth! She burns like wood and in her blood is that of a witches'." Shouted the vicar to thunder filled skies.

Victor ran up to her, knelt by her and supported her small frame onto his lap. "She is innocent! She is just a girl."

"No Vic," Richard almost whispered, "she is not just a girl, don't you believe in all of the logic and science? Was it not you who lives by philosophy? Do you have no priorities in what you believe and what you want to believe?"

"Do you have no heart? Do you have no priorities with who is and is not your friend?" asked Vic hypothetically.

"If I were to believe she is innocent, then I _would_ have no priorities. If I believe what I chose to believe about witches then I would be wrong in my beliefs if I were to say she is innocent," replied Richard.

Kori's head lolled to the side and her hair poured onto the floor in one swift beautiful movement. Raven was standing with her tear brimmed eyes unconsciously on the flames which had now dimmed to the usual colour. _How could I have let this happen? Am I not her friend? Should I not defend her? Yes, I must. She did so for me._

"No!" she shouted, "She is no witch. She did no spell. She is innocent and I believe it to be so."

"Then I guess you'll be watching an innocent's death tonight," retorted the vicar.

At midnight, the friends stood around the burning stakes on the little island just south of the village. Kori had been awoken, rather unkindly and was standing, deep in thought, in a stock. Left to rot in her melancholy mind.

"It's a good turnout tonight, isn't it?" asked the vicar to Richard attempting to make small talk before the real fun began.

"Yeah, it's great," replied Richard, not really paying attention to the question.

The vicar continued, "Almost everyone in the village turned up for this one, didn't they?"

"No doubt about it," once again Richard's mind didn't fully process the question, or the answer.

"Did you… err… have any relationship with the um… witch?" asked the vicar uncertainly.

"I know," Richard had his mind on other things and he hadn't bothered listening.

"It must be so distressing looking at your beloved for the first time to see what she really is," said the vicar trying to sympathise.

"Sure, why not?"

"Now look at me, there is nothing to worry about. You can trust an old vicar like me, soon you'll be back burning witches and strangling chickens like the rest of us."

"Of course, you're right." For the next ten minutes the conversation went on like that.

Meanwhile, Kori was bidding her time. "My friends, I am so relieved that you believe in my innocence. Listen, Raven, I want you to have any of the clothes you like…"

"She cannot, they are burning it to destroy any witch traces," interrupted Garfield.

"Ah, then Raven, you can have my bed…"

"They're donating it to the poor," once again Gar interrupted.

"My table?"

"They're using it for firewood."

"My chair?"

"Firewood."

"The cow?"

"They are planning to eat it for the successful witch-hunt feast."

"My crop field?"

"It's the vicar's now."

"My bracelets?"

"Oh yeah, some gypsies came and took what they liked."

"My books?"

"Err… I guess."

Mr. Turner was standing behind the stocks listening. _Books? What kind of books? Witch spells? This needs investigation._

After Kori spoke her will to her friends, well, what was left of her will, she looked over and saw the bonfire wood was all in place and all was ready for her execution.

"So, when is this thing gonna start?" asked a peasant in the crowds.

The vicar answered, "As soon as midnight strikes."

"Vicar, vicar!" a man came shouting, running and cradling a sack in his arms, "I found spell books badly buried in the mud behind the witches' house."

He unloaded the bag to reveal the books Raven hid hours ago. Raven gasped and burst into silent tears but no one paid attention.

"That is all I need to know, burn the witch!" screamed the vicar.

And at that, Kori was unlocked from the stock and was taken, one man for each arm and was dragged towards the stake.

But what made it more unbearable to watch was the expression on her face. She did not put up a fight against the men holding her, she did not cry and beg. She just held a steady and unreadable expression of what looked like expectance? Was she expecting this? Mixed in her features was pity, but not self-pity. Innocence etched in every fibre.

She stood mighty and _proud?_ Upon that hill tied to the wood. Scented candles were set out, they say it's to make a nice smell but who can resist the big flames they made? The vicar came out and held the torch of flaming wood high.

Raven couldn't let this happen to her friend and under impulsive instinct, she tried to run through the crowd, why was she standing right at the back? She dodged around many men and… not so many women and as she ran she shouted, "Stop, no, don't!" But her screams were muffled by the crowd.

When she got to the front, she was just in time to see the torch make contact with the remains of an old table and chair. She screamed no but no one listened.

Kori looked at her friend and showed a small ghost of a smile. The flames licked higher up Kori's legs but she did not scream.

She just stayed very still.

Unconscious?

Unaware?

Uncaring?

…Dead?


	7. Secrets Unfolded

**Witch Trials **

Disclaimer: How many times do I need to write this?

Character Death. But bare with me, I know what I'm doing… crying…

**Chapter Six – Secrets Unfolded**

Kori's eyes remained open and the truth was all there. She died very quickly and didn't put up much of a fight. No screaming, no escaping. She stood on the stake almost… beautiful, well compared to how all of the others went down. Richard sighed.

"If she was really a witch, then why does she not escape. Surely she would be capable."

The vicar shook his head, "No, my son. She did not fight because she wanted to die. She knows of the evil she holds and like all other witches, when the secrets get out, she cannot bare to live."

"But if she is… was truly evil… why would she care?"

"Because she has grown attached to the mortals around her. She may be a witch but she is just human."

Raven collapsed on her knees and cried below the body of her dear friend. She was too late. Death has claimed another innocent. Kori was no more. The fire grew to shoulder height and as it singed the bottom of the hair, free sparks shot up and the individual hairs disappeared. The face and whole body in general was not a pretty sight.

On the way home, the teenagers were silent. Richard still did not believe that the method they used in proving witches was right. Raven was staring at the ground and not really noticing it. She was thinking about Kori. Who wasn't? Garfield was thinking about all of the good times they had together and he was smiling. Victor was thinking about all of the good times they will never have and frowning.

Richard's thoughts were playing twenty questions.

_She was your friend. Why did you let her die?_

_**She was a witch. **_

_She was your friend. What proof was there of witchcraft._

_**She was no longer my friend, she deserved what she got!**_

_Did she?_

_**The fire… an-and the explosion… The books-**_

The books. There were books. Without another thought he dashed towards the bridge leading to the island. The others did not even say anything.

He ran up to the witch burning site and skidded onto the floor by the books. The light was dimmer than it was before, the fire that claimed Kori was almost out. But Richard did not want to see her carcass. He flipped through the first book. _Summoning portals… waking the sleeping… transporting ingredients across country… suicide charms?_ All clearly spells. She was a witch and Richard could sleep easily tonight knowing he did right.

That night everyone had an uneasy sleep. Raven thrust her blankets to and fro. This was the worst night she could remember. She could not sleep so she decided to get a drink of water. She opened her eyes and got out of bed only to jump back in and pull the sheets up to her eyes. There in from of her, hovering a foot off the floor was Kori. Kori the ghost. She looked so solemn, her Sunday dress on, her hands together in front of her. She looked sad, staring at the ground.

Raven felt uneasy, she was glad she had a chance to apologise but seeing her friend like this was scary for her. "Kori, I'm so sorry for what happened, it's all my fault. If it wasn't for me, they wouldn't think there was a witch-" Kori stopped her.

"Do not fear, friend. I do not blame you. I know of your secret. Do not call yourself a witch, you know of empathy and telepathy, think of them as gifts."

"I do know empathy but why could I never sense what you were feeling."

"It does not matter, listen to me. You must tell your friends. And not your enemies," with that Kori disappeared into a grey puff of smoke.

_Well it is kind of obvious not to tell my enemies. What did she mean by that? _Raven settled her thoughts and decided what she must do. She fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Raven remembered the vision she saw the previous night. After dressing and brushing her hair, she went downstairs to find Garfield and Victor standing in the living room, looking at her. Gar spoke quietly, "Rae, just the girl I wanted to see. Come with me, you two. I need to talk to you." He walked outside and into the cow stable where once was a cow but now was in the stomach of the vicar and his witch hunting team.

"Where's Richard?" asked Victor.

"He shouldn't know what I'm about to say," answered Garfield. Raven was suspicious, _what was going on? Did he know my secret?_

"I need to tell you something, and you need to promise not to tell anyone else. The information I am about to disclose is top secret. Do you promise?"

Raven and Vic nodded. "Ok, watch this," Garfield stepped back and then put on a concentrating face. Vic and Raven were not expecting what they saw next. Garfield turned into a … pig? Cow? Cat? Human. "I'm a sort of… wizard. I can turn into any animal I've seen."

Raven and Victor were amazed. "Listen, I need to tell you something too." Raven knew she had to say it, "I am a witch."

Everyone's eyes widened. What were the chances? Two witches under one roof. Victor looked disbelieving. Raven closed her eyes. "Garfield, I know you think I'm hot when I get angry but it's never gonna happen so get over it. Victor you can stop drooling over Karen, she's taken. I believe she's engaged to a … Mr. Turner." If Raven thought that that would put the guy's disbelieving faces to rest, she was wrong. They looked even more disbelieving than before. She had just read their minds right at the back behind the beads on strings that say 'No one over 18'.

"I feel so… violated," complained Victor. "Does she think he's better than me?" he asked Raven.

"I don't know."

"What else can you do?" asked a very curious Garfield.

"Flying, telepathy and empathy." She answered.

"Wait, did Kori come to you last night?" he asked.

"She came to you too?" Raven was surprised.

"You know, it's strange. Two witches under one roof and the vicar goes for the least likeliest, most innocent girl," said Victor.

"But she did have those spell books," replied Garfield.

"Um, they're mine." Raven's eyes gleamed with unformed tears.

"Oh man, this stinks," Victor was right, they were standing in a deceased cow's manure.

"Rae… you're a witch," Gar began.

"Yes," said Raven sarcastically nodding her head slowly.

"And you can do spells."

"Like most witches, yes," how dim-witted did Gar need to be to not understand this simple concept?

"And there are spells that involve the dead. Right?"

The world stopped. Everyone looked around at each other. _Wake the living dead? Really, if the people of the village think that the whole female population is made up of witches then wouldn't they think that burning them would just make the others angry? …and bring the dead ones back to life?_


	8. Just a Dream?

**Witch Trials **

Disclaimer: How many times do I need to write this?

Sorry it took so long, writer's block. I hope you like the chapter, this is the third time I've written it. Sorry it's short

**Chapter Seven – Just a Dream?**

The plan was constructed. They strike at midnight. Raven had already found a book with the spell to bring back the dead. Everything was in place.

---WT---

Richard was walking away from the house where he lived. The long brown coat he was wearing was going side-to-side in a gentle motion. Not changing rhythm or stopping. Until he got to his destination. He stood in front of the church.

The doors opened wide, both doors, although only one was necessary to enter. The light flushed into the dark room. Stain glass window making was a recently introduced concept. Not the best quality.

Richard entered and looked around uncertainly. No one was there, he thought. He turned and walked back towards the doors but a hand had caught his shoulder. Instinctively, Richard would have given the unfortunate soul a swinging kick. But he deprived his instincts. This was not a person to trip onto their back.

"Hello, vicar," said Richard before turning and releasing himself from the vicar's grasp.

"My child, you have always been my brightest. You do not harness life. You pick it up and set it free, to fly high above the world. I am glad you did what is right and came through."

"Then why do I feel so bad? Why do I feel so empty! You know, you're not very good at describing someone you have known for their whole life!" Richard snapped, he turned to leave again but stopped upon hearing the vicar speak again.

"I see I had you wrong, you do not harness life at all. You put it in a high security cage under lock and key."

"You may have known me for my whole life but you don't know anything about me," said Richard. He barely whispered it. The vicar may not have even heard it before Richard was out of the door.

---WT---

Raven was picking snowdrops from a patch of flowers in the back yard. These were necessary in the spell. As well as twenty other herbs and plants. She held one in her hands and sighed. She never really spent much time with Kori, they were friends till death but now that death has come upon one of them, it didn't feel true.

'_What does 'friend' mean?'_ thought Raven, '_a person whom one knows, likes, trusts. But is that enough to make you friends with someone you rarely do anything with?'_

Suddenly Raven was overwhelmed by a desire to close her eyes. She obeyed her basic natural principles, 'sleep when one is sleepy. Unless of course one's desire for food, drink, toilet, etc. is stronger.'

She lay down on the grassy patch. It was dry and smooth. Soft and pillowy. Good enough for an immediate nap. Sleep had conquered poor unsuspecting Raven.

---WT---

And this uncalled for sleep was none too ordinary. It engulfed Raven with it's swirls of mist and darkness.

"Hello? Is anybody there?"

Raven waited for an answer that never came. She held her arms protectively around herself. The newly created wind blew harshly against her face. Raven narrowed her eyes to a thin slit. She started to walk against the breeze.

Ahead she could see nothing but more fog but somehow she knew it was the right way. But, to what?

Ahead an image emerged. A figure by a tree. Kori? A relaxed expression in her face as she daydreamed the day away under the willow by the lake in the park. She lazily opened her eyes, they were not focused onto Raven. They were in a dream-like state.

Suddenly her eyes flashed open and she cautiously stood up leaning against the tree. A court room materialised in front of the two girls and the vicar was standing tall above them. He raised a finger towards Kori and as she gasped flames appeared around her and a string of rope tied itself around both Kori and the stake.

Raven watched in horror as flashbacks materialised in a swift motion. She couldn't stand to see her friend die once more and turned away. Her eyes were tightly shut and somehow a tear managed it's way out of her eye.

A soft cold hand was there to wipe the tear away. Raven opened her eyes to see Kori. The ghost. Smiling.

"You must tell your friends and not your enemies," she spoke in an echoed voice. She started to dematerialise.

"Please, don't go," cried Raven as she followed the shadow that was quickly falling further and further away, "No, come back."

The ghost was just a shadow now, the innocent smile upon her face turned into an evil frown. Her eyes glowed a cold icy blue and in a puff of smoke and a swoosh sound, she was gone.


	9. Try and Fail

**Witch Trials **

Disclaimer: Once again the repetitive fairy screams at me…

And once again leaves you a rather short chapter. But this one should explain a bit more. Or confuse you further.

**Chapter Eight**

Raven awoke startled. After her encounter with Kori in the misty dream of replaying scenes, Raven was hesitant with what to do next. To carry on with the plan was a good idea. Raven sat up on her knees and continued t pick snowdrops, absentmindedly. She gathered a large handful and turned to add it to the pile to find that she had ten times too many.

She picked up a couple of them and hid the rest behind the bush. If Richard was to find a large pile of snowdrops, suspicion would arouse. Looking up to the sky, Raven realised that she had in fact been sleeping for most of the day.

Raven started to walk at a faster pace towards the house when she nearly walked into Richard who had just turned the corner.

"Oh, Richard, I did not see you there," Raven stuttered as she put her hands behind her back to hide the flowers from sight. She looked back at Richard. "What is the matter?" she asked furrowing her brow. Richard had a look on his face that said something like 'I do not care if I live or die'.

"It's … nothing. I was just … err. I – I miss Kori. I miss the way she talked and smiled and always looked so happy. It's … my fault she's dead," there was a moment of silence at which time Raven held an understanding look upon her face. Richard wouldn't even look at it, "She's dead," he repeated.

They both looked onto the ground and Raven took her hands in front of herself and glanced at the snowdrops. _Of course, she is dead. But there is a way we can change that!_

---WT---

Back inside the house, in the basement Victor and Garfield were fumbling with all of the potion ingredients they had gathered.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, another knock, silence, and then five furious knocks. "Come in, Raven! We've got all of the potion ingredients and we're waiting for you to start the spe-lloookey, why is he here?" Garfield asked when he saw Raven dragging Richard inside.

"It's okay, Garfield. We can trust him. I've got the snowdrops," Raven replied.

"Look, Raven, are you sure we can trust him with the … err, well you know. I mean, he did, like, _justify_ Kori's death," Victor complained.

"He regrets it. I know that he wants more than anything for Kori to return, trust me."

"Did you? You know, _read his mind?"_ Garfield hissed.

"No, I didn't need to. I can trust him."

"So where were you? We were waiting all day, we got more than enough ingredients," Victor said rubbing the back of his head.

"Wait, what is going on here? I'm confused," Richard stated.

"Richard, promise not to speak a word of this to anyone," Raven pleaded, Richard nodded, "The vicar got the wrong girl. I am a witch," there was an uneasy silence, "And so is Garfield," she added.

"A man witch. A wizard," he corrected.

"We are going to bring Kori back," she finished, Richard had a blank expression on his face.

For almost a minute there was complete silence.

"So… what do you want me to do?" Richard finally asked.

---WT---

The potion was ready. It was blood red and flesh would be it's purpose.

A ring of white candles were placed in the middle of the basement. With a flick of Raven's hand the candles ignited and the transition to the land of the dead was ready.

Everything was in place.

Raven stood in front of the circle of candles. She held a book in one hand and the other was outstretched. "Sanctum portala imartantra emervia Kori cromander," She called, waving her hand in a fluidic motion.

Richard, Garfield and Victor stood even distances away from each other around the circle, each holding a large bottle of potion.

They began to pour the liquid into the ring and when there was no more left they stepped back.

The puddle on the floor danced. Upwards. It spun and swivelled into awkward shaped and finally resembled somewhat like a human body. It moulded itself into Kori's body shape. The next step should have been for the liquid to change colour. For the hair to turn auburn, for the skin to turn tan, for the eyes to turn green. But nothing changed. Except a weak smile formed on the face.

The boys braced themselves, they were expecting for Kori to appear in the flesh, clothless. Raven held a blanket in her hands where moments ago was an old book. But all of these precautions went unheeded.

The liquid Kori looked at her friends and paused on Richard who now opened his eyes to see nothing happen. Her kind face, her weak smile quickly turned into an angry frown and Richard's eyes widened. By now all of the boys had their eyes open and all saw the angry Kori figure staring out at them.

The only colour change seen was her eyes, they turned icy blue just like in Raven's dream.

Kori lowered her head and let her liquid hair fall out in front of her face, her eyes still focused on Richard.

She opened her mouth and spoke in a cold dead voice, "You have failed. Please do not try again for your attempts will not work to your will."

This voice didn't sound at all like Kori's. It sounded more metallic. But just then, Kori dematerialised into a puff of smoke.

Raven was devastated. She stepped back and sat on a wooden box staring out into the floor. She laid her head on her hands and spoke into them. Her voice was muffled. Everyone was staring at her, but all they heard her say was, "Just like in my dream."


	10. Familiar Scream

**Witch Trials **

Ok, I know that some of you, one person in particular, UNSecur to be precise, had some criticism over if fire would hurt Starfire/Kori badly. Well just bear with me, what you wrote will influence the story.

And thank you all of my lovely reviewers! Please visit my profile if you want to know more about me or you just want to laugh at some funny quotes. Thanx!

Disclaimer: Yawn. _No_, I do _not _own Teen Titans.

**Chapter Nine – Familiar Scream**

Confusion and disarray flooded each of the friends. Garfield, not enjoying the silence, decided to break it, "Why didn't it work?"

"I don't know, I just don't know," breathed Raven.

Raven fumbled around in her spell book to see any cause of this failure but her search went in vain. In frustration, Raven slammed the book against the table and ran to her room. She closed the door and leaned her back against it.

'_You're really gone. You can't come back.'_

Realisation is horrible. Ignorance is bliss.

All of the guys were standing in the basement as the uneasy silence reappeared. Richard didn't know what to say. Then an idea popped into his mind, "What if Kori doesn't want to come back?" he whispered.

Victor and Garfield didn't even hear him. They both wanted to get their minds off of their recently deceased friend. "Hey Vic, you want to go to the old watering fountain?" asked Garfield in a low-pitched voice. They had buckets of water at home, Garfield just desperately wanted to get out of the house. With a homicidally angry witch and a suicidally depressed muscular teenager slash martial arts expert, you don't really want to stick around too long.

"Yeah sure, Gar. I'll just get my coat," replied Victor.

---WT---

At the watering fountain, the two friends bumped into the vicar. Literally.

"Whoa, sorry dude, I was just… oh. It's you," Garfield pulled an angry face.

"Burn any good witches lately?" asked Victor spitefully.

"As a matter of fact, no. None of the witches I have put to death recently have prevailed long enough to prove witch craft. But none of the women I burned were good," answered the vicar casually.

"What about our friend? So you sentenced her to an unjustified death only to see how quickly she would burn? How could you kill such an innocent person?" asked Victor passing by the vicar and not really caring how he answered.

"Killed an innocent person? I never remember doing that!" defended the vicar.

"What about Kori?" snapped Garfield not even turning around.

"What about her?" the two friends turned but there was no sight of the vicar.

---WT---

Richard slumped onto his bed. He knew not of what to do next. His maybe-more-than-just-a-friend was gone. And to replace her was a wind of guilt. A lump came up to his throat. _Maybe she didn't want to come back? Maybe she thinks it was my fault that she died. _

_Maybe she was right._

_I did nothing to save her when I could easily have pulled some strings and got her off with a warning. I know people who could have made a difference. _

_I could have made a difference. But why I didn't is beyond me. Why didn't I?_

He thought about this for a moment but couldn't think of a possible answer. If he had thought that witches were so bad and must be burned before they spread then why is Raven still alive? Why is Garfield still alive? What made the difference?

---WT---

"Dude, that guy is a freak! I mean, disappearing. Oh yeah, and before he goes, he leaves a bewildering question behind!" Garfield queried.

"That's just typical of bad guys in plays! You know, he's getting more and more suspicious to me," agreed Victor.

They were walking away from the watering fountain after satisfying their thirsts and drinking straight from the fountain while the other one pumps the lever.

"Where do you think he goes at night time?" asked Garfield.

"Well I've never seen his residence. He can't sleep at the church, can he?"

"Nah, only homeless people and old people who are homeless go there."

"Well he could be homeless, couldn't he? We don't know anything about him!"

"No way! He wouldn't degrade himself to sleeping on the floor of a public building. He's bigger than that. He's 'I burned 35 witches, how about you?' bigger than that!" complained Garfield.

"Look! Isn't that him there?" asked Victor suddenly. And there he was, the vicar walking at a sharp pace away from the church building.

"Hey, let's spy on him. Just like that guy in that play, you know, the one that spies on people, suspicious people. Ones that act bad and then make you think that there's some sort of conspiracy out there. And they are part of it. And so the spy follows them and then when they least suspect, the suspect turns and looks around, but the spy isn't there…" Garfield drawled on. Victor wasn't paying attention. He was just staring out at the vicar while Gar was making guns gestures with his hands and recreating a one-person fight scene.

"Come on, he's going!"

---WT---

Raven was having trouble focusing her powers. Ever since the only other girl in the house was gone, she stopped sensing deep emotions and happiness and started feeling depression and misery from everybody else. Including herself.

She tried to meditate but failed. Something was messing up her powers. Raven shrugged off her issues thinking it was the cause of the sudden emotion change. It most probably was.

Raven got out of her cross-legged position and walked over to her bookshelf. A little bit of reading would calm her sixth sense.

---WT---

Richard was in his own room staring out of the window at the night sky. All of his thoughts have been focused on Kori lately even though she was not with him any more. He sighed.

Suddenly, from not too far away, there was a scream. It startled Richard. He was convinced that it sounded familiar. He didn't know it but at that same time, Raven thought the exact same thing. The second time they both heard the scream after a moment's silence they decided to go find each other. They bumped into each other in the corridor.

"Did you hear that?" asked Raven hurriedly.

"It sounded just like Kori."

---WT---

Raven and Richard ran outside and followed the direction of the last scream that still silently echoed through the village. They dodged past startled villagers and Richard jumped over a barrel that just rolled in his direction. They ran as quickly as their feet would carry them and avoided every obstacle. By the time they got to where they heard the scream from, Raven had a strong stitch in her left side.

They listened for any sound that would help them know where to go. They were in a deserted rundown area. And so were Garfield and Victor.

---WT---

Garfield and Victor had abandoned their sleuthing when they heard the screaming. They were hiding behind several empty wine kegs. They were listening out for any more screaming to find out if it really had been Kori.

Suddenly, there was the sound of footsteps. Running. In their direction.

"Go out there and pounce on them!" whispered Victor.

"No way man, I don't _do_ the whole bite-bad-guys-on-the-butt thing!"

The footsteps stopped, well at least some of them._ There is more than one person out there_, thought Vic and Gar. There was silence, some more footsteps and all this time a deep breathing sound. The pair listened for a moment and the footsteps started off slowly again.

"Just go!" urged Victor.

Garfield turned into a snake and slivered onto the pathway. As soon as the footsteps became clear thump sounds, Garfield got into a cobra ready-to-strike position.

---WT---

Raven was breathing deeply, she never had to run so far. She stopped for a moment to catch her breath.

"Come on, she can't be far now," whispered Richard as he turned to confront Raven.

"I can't. Too. Tired," she managed between breaths.

"The Raven _I_ know does _not_ get tired. And I bet she would get even less tired when looking for her dead friend. I'm only guessing, I've never seen you look for your long dead friend before," Richard rubbed the back of his head unsurely.

Raven looked at him, deeply. "Come on, we have a long dead friend to look for. Raven grabbed Richard's wrist and started walking again at a slower pace.

Suddenly a cobra appeared in front of them. It raised it's head and bent back and forth ready to strike at the sound of any movement. Hissing, the snake slithered closer to the now terrified petrified pair.

Raven slowly raised her hand and cast weak ebony magic towards the snake which hovered in midair for a moment and then got sent flying towards a pile of empty wine kegs.

---WT---

Garfield maintained his striking cobra position and slowly slithered toward the figures. He hissed and fluidly wiggled his neck back and forward. Gar was about to strike the hand that was slowly reaching out to him, _how strange,_ he thought. _Why would someone reach out for a snake?_

But before he could spend another second puzzling over the question he was engulfed in a black ball. Garfield was terrified. Never had this happened to him and surely he would quickly run out of air.

But that was soon solved, the ebony magic threw his towards the empty wine kegs that he was hiding behind earlier and the blackness disappeared. As he was flying through the air, he turned back to his human self and made sharp and painful contact with the kegs that he soon discovered were not empty after all and were in fact half-full of old wine that was probably three times the cost of the last time it was seen.

_Splash._

---WT---

**Ok, that was a really long chapter. I'm hoping for at least 10 reviews, so there will be 51 reviews.**

**:) or :( count as reviews if you have no words.**

**No 10th chapter till then.**


	11. The Meeting

**Witch Trials **

Standard disclaimers apply.

I feel charitable so here's the next chapter earlier than I promised. Thanks to all who reviewed!

A/N, this is the chapter when I will reveal some valuable information to you all. Sorry it's so short, I'll post the next chapter quickly.

**Chapter Ten - Meeting**

"Gar? Garfield? Garfield Logan! Step away from the alcohol and explain yourself!" shouted Raven.

Garfield stumbled away from the kegs of wine and drunkenly walked around rubbing his head, "I see stars!" he said to himself.

"What do you think you were doing, trying to attack us?" shouted Raven as she grabbed Gar and shook him. He regained awareness and blink tightly.

"We thought you guys were the vicar," stated Garfield.

"You thought _us two_ were the _vicar?_" asked Richard. "You were going to _attack_ the vicar?"

"Yeah! Only, we think he's the bad guy," said Victor as he came out of his hiding place.

"What makes you think that?" asked Richard. Everyone glared at him. "Whoa, just a question," he said, backing away and waving his arms in a 'backing off' gesture.

"Shhh," Raven hushed, everyone went silent. There were voices speaking in light whispers. The four friends went over to the corner of a building and looked around it cautiously. There in a hooded brown cloak was a man talking to someone in the shadows.

"Yes. I do this for you, but what will I get in return?" the man mumbled in an unfamiliar voice.

"You do this, you keep what I have given you," said a voice from the shadows, "If you refuse I will take it away from you and you don't want that, now do you?"

The hooded figure took a frightened step back and into the light of the street lantern, but he was still wearing the hood over his head and his identity still remained mysterious to the four watching the scene unsuspected. "No master, I am very grateful for the gift and I will do anything in my power to keep it. I will do the task you have set me and no one will ever know."

When the last words were spoken, the hooded figure put his hands in the prayer position and bent forward as a leaving gesture and then took off, the person in the shadows most likely did the same for when the four friends came to look in the shadows, no one was there.

---WT---

The hooded figure who had left the meeting half an hour ago was walking over a long wooden bridge. He reached the stony path and walked onwards. Smelling the fresh grassy smells he stopped. The figure looked around, no one was there. He left the path and went downhill where the grass was yellow and dead.

He walked up to where the sea met the land and he stepped forward. He staggered unsteadily through the waves and around the cliff face where the water was now waist deep. The brown cloak was moist and uncomfortable but this was the only way to get to his destination.

Half way around the cliff face, the man knocked on the stone. It gave a loud empty sound that meant only one thing, the cliff was hollow. Or at least partially hollow. The figure's hand travelled around the rocks that made up the cliff until he found what he was looking for. He lifted a piece of material that looked just like it was washed up and got stuck on the rock. It revealed a touchpad. The man placed his hand on the pad and a small LED lit up and accepted him inside. The man stepped back as a pair of rock doors slid to the sides just above sea level.

The man stepped inside and the doors shut behind him. It was dark, very dark and moist. A hand fumbled around for a lantern and a box of matches. When the room was lit with a gentle flickering light, the figure removed the cloak and hung it on a peg. He stepped forward with the lantern in his hand and walked towards the back of the cave. The vicar knew what he must do next.


	12. Kori

**Witch Trials **

Standard disclaimers apply.

Like I promised, because the last chapter was so short, here's the next chapter posted on the very same day as the last. Oh yeah, I also changed the name of the place from Jump City to June Village coz to me it sounds more right.

Also, I realised I made a slight mistake in the third chapter and I was wondering if anyone could tell me how I can fix it. Don't worry, it won't affect the chapters ahead, it's just a spelling mistake.

**Chapter Eleven - Kori**

The friends were walking home and talking about the things that they had just witnessed.

"That had to be the vicar in the cloak!" shouted Garfield.

"It didn't sound anything like him," claimed Richard.

"But he did seem very suspicious earlier!" said Victor.

"That doesn't prove anything," said Richard.

"They're right, Richard. That was the vicar," said Raven.

"What makes you say that?" asked Richard.

"I could sense the same aura coming from the figure that I normally sense coming from the vicar." There was a silence when Richard absorbed this new piece of information. He stopped walking, everybody turned around to look at him.

"If that's true than what do you think he's planning?" he asked.

"And who was that person in the shadows?" asked Raven.

"We could go looking for the vicar," suggested Garfield, "if he's planning to do something it's probably gonna be bad. He might be planning to do it now!"

"Yeah but the village is huge. How we ever gonna find him?" asked Victor.

"I could search for him using my powers," suggested Raven. "Somebody get me a map and I'll get the searching crystal from my room."

When they got home, Richard went to his room and searched through his papers and pencils until he found a map of the village. He went down to the basement where he found Raven ready with the crystal. They laid the map down on the table and Raven threaded a silver chain around the hole at the top of the crystal.

She spun the crystal around the map muttering words under her breath. After ten minutes of searching in which Garfield fell asleep, the crystal pulled itself towards the island where witch burning took place. There hadn't been any witches to burn since Kori two months ago.

Raven let the crystal touch the map and point to the cliff at the side of the island. They left the map and the crystal and left to find the vicar. After waking Garfield up of course.

---WT---

The vicar paced the cave thinking. He knew what he had to do but he wasn't sure how. _A knife would finish the job off, but how am I to be sure that I get the right results? _He thought to himself,_ maybe I need to try doing something more mystical. But I don't know any spells._ He had been pacing since he got inside and he was starting to feel cold. The constant dripping of the walls was disturbing him. Who ever thought of having a seaside hideout?

He had a thought. At one side of the cave was a bookshelf. A rather small bookshelf but it contained every person in the world. He walked over to it and very clearly he spoke, "Find me Kori Anders of the village of June."

The bookshelf glowed yellow and suddenly a book appeared on the table at one side of it. The vicar sat down and opened the book. He flicked through the enormous book until he found the last words written. A sentence was writing itself on the half empty page. He read it from the top of the page.

_Kori was sitting on the cold hard ground and waited. She knew that sooner or later something would happen but she was tied too tightly around the chest to the stake to scream or yell for help._

He started reading the newly written sentences.

_She got a feeling that someone was watching her but she shrugged it off thinking it was just her imagination. She shivered and wished that her hands were not tied behind her so that she could wrap herself in her arms to retain heat. She closed her eyes and brought her knees closer to her body. _

Reading the book gave the vicar an idea. She thought that no one knew she was alive, she was wrong. The vicar knew. He knew all too well. He also knew that he would soon have visitors.

---WT---

Raven, Richard, Garfield and Victor got to the end of the bridge and started making their way on the path. They heard a groan to the side of the path. "Someone's over there," hissed Garfield.

"And not just anyone, it's the vicar!" whispered Raven.

They walked away from the path and found a subconscious vicar lying in the grass. The hem of his cloak was wet and he was mumbling to himself. Only a few of the words he said were understandable, "Witch… mumbling… guilty… more mumbling… no!... too much… yes master."

Victor picked up the vicar by the front of his shirt and slapped him until he stopped mumbling. "Wha-what's going on?" he asked.

"What are you doing here?" asked Richard.

"I- I don't know. Last thing I remember was… the master!" he hissed and looked around to see if some one was there.

"Who is the master?" asked Raven.

"The master… oh the master is a cruel man. He told me I must-… or he will… and then-," the vicar broke down crying.

"He told you to do what?" asked Richard.

"Told me I must… burn more witches or he would… lower my position as Vicar. Told me I must or I'd be poor in two days. I don't want to be poor!" he squealed.

"But… I thought you enjoyed burning witches," stated Garfield.

"I did, but I redeemed my old wicked ways. The last burning I did was all wrong. All of the burnings I ever did were all wrong. There is no such thing as a witch!" he shouted.

"Kori… she's dead. It's all because of you!" shouted Victor.

"I'm sorry for ever burning a single woman."

"Let's go. You can stay here and rot for all I care!" shouted Raven.

"No, let's take him back to his home," said Richard. He winked at his friends, "Where do you live again?" he asked the vicar.

---WT---

Kori sat on the ground, her hands were tied behind her and her chest was tied up so tight that she could scarcely breathe. She had been there for two months and it was a miracle she was still alive. She fainted often from lack of nutrients, all she ate was grass that grew tall around her from the singed ground. She had given up hope long ago. She should never have survived the flame. No other woman ever had. But Kori was not like other woman.

Her stomach rumbled and she leant forward to eat some grass. After ten minutes of a very uncomfortable eating position, her stomach was full. She leant back and let sleep possess her.


	13. The Visit

**Witch Trials **

Standard disclaimers apply.

Read and Review, and thanks to all who reviewed, you've been really supportive! I just couldn't wait to write this chapter so all my other stories can wait!

Also, Kori's parents are called Maya and Luan. This is my longest chapter to date. I love it, I hope you do and I hope for at least **10 reviews **: )

**Chapter Twelve - Visit**

The four friends took the vicar to a tall house with beautifully plastered brick walls. The vicar took a key out of his pocket and opened the oak wood door. This was where the vicar lived. It would be worth investigating later on.

"Well this is where you must leave me. Goodbye," the vicar then slammed the door on them.

The vicar stood in his own house and grinned a wide toothy grin, "I didn't know I was _that_ good an actor!"

The friends started to walk away when Richard realised how very thirsty he felt. So thirsty that he couldn't even wait to get home, "I'm going to go get a drink of water, I'll see you guys at home later on."

Raven, Garfield and Victor left towards the house still thinking of all that had happened to them and what they were supposed to do from there.

Richard walked in the direction of the fountain. He pumped the lever and cupped his hands under the tap. Water poured out and he quickly brought it over to his face before all of the water escaped.

Unknown to him, someone was behind him. Staring right at him. "She's alive," a deep and slightly familiar voice said to Richard.

Richard was startled but did not turn around, he just listened.

"Kori is alive." Richard took a deep breath to calm himself. He was not going to be fooled into bringing up false hope. "She never died, but she might if she is not found."

"I don't believe you."

"Deserved it, to my opinion," the voice hissed to himself. Richard was about to turn his head towards the man, "I wouldn't do that if I were you. It is not yet time for you to face me." Richard looked down at the water slowly trickling from his hands.

"Why would she deserve to suffer?" asked Richard.

"For what she did, everyone suffered. And the only one that should have suffered was her," replied the voice.

"What did she do that was so bad then?" asked Richard.

"Your parents died when you were a young boy. The case was never solved."

"My parents died in an accident."

"The accident was planned. By Kori. Kori killed your parents."

"Don't you speak about my parents!" snapped Richard. He took another deep breath to steady his voice, "It was an accident. No one could have been it's fault."

"Somebody was. And not only to those deaths but also the deaths of Maya and Luan Anders. She killed them both," replied the voice.

"Why would she kill her own parents?"

"Why wouldn't she want to? They were just like her. Secretive and inconspicuous. Hatred. Hatred led her to their death. Why do you think she always went to bed so early? Don't you think it's possible- no- probable that she had secrets not worthy of you? Secrets and plans unknown to you? A devilish life that deserved a short end?"

There was a pause between the two. The voice continued, "You loved her. Once. But then the church showed you right again. Evil people deserve to die. Evil people like her. Who kill. And your parents were such good people, kind, caring, helpful."

"Who are you?" asked Richard.

"I was their friend. I want the same revenge that you are after. Your parents would want the same revenge if they lost you to her like she was planning. She was planning to put a stop to your life. But she was discovered by the vicar. She never loved you. She never cared about you. You were a pawn in her demented game of chess. And now she will starve upon the island tied to the stake. Wouldn't it be nice to say a final goodbye to her?"

Richard had enough. All of this talk of his parents was getting to his head. His emotions were tearing his up and a stray tear was tickling against his cheek. Richard wiped his eyes with the back of one hand and turned towards the voice. But no one was there.

---WT---

Raven, Garfield and Victor entered the house and agreed that they all had a long hard day and would like to finish it with a large tasty feast. Once Garfield and Victor commenced with their usual fight over which foods to prepare, Raven changed her mind and decided that she wasn't that hungry after all. She retired into her bedroom and sat at her table. With her head against her hand she tried to think things through. Nothing. Nothing came to her. She was as confused as she ever was. She couldn't resurrect Kori. But maybe she could contact her instead. Raven opened a cupboard and took out a handful of large candles and lavender incense.

---WT---

"Okay. I'm going to take it easy and stop the arguing. _Someone_ has to be the better man!" Garfield said as he lowered the knife that he was clutching in both hands in front of Victor. The fight got a little more out of control than it usually does. Apart from the constant misery and slight insanity, the family of crazy people was back to normal. Garfield flatly refused to eat any animal but he didn't mind killing one of the lowlier creatures (as to his opinions – not mine).

"Man, you weren't really gonna stab me, were you?"

Garfield put the knife on the counter and sighed, "No," he looked down at the ground. He thought for a second. "What were we fighting about this time?"

Victor looked down at what Garfield was staring at, "I don't know. I forgot."

There was a silence between them. They always fought for any reason and only lately have they noticed that there was no reason for their behaviour. Kori normally would have come in with smiles and hugs and lectured them both about petty rivalry and irrational actions and their consequences. Neither of them listened but now that their usual battles lasted five minutes longer than usual, they stopped and realised something was wrong. Only to remember that the little voice at the back of their heads that taught them right from wrong was gone. Burned alive at the stake.

The silence continued. "Oh yeah! You sold my waffle iron!"

---WT---

(A/N – I was gonna stop it there but I feel nice!)

Kori grew more and more miserable. After her best friend's betrayal, she had no happiness within her. Her powers were inaccessible. Her inhuman strength would have come in handy now.

She groaned. Her stomach felt horrible lately. After the first few days it felt as if it had shrunk but instead of filling up quicker, it would remain unsatisfied. Kori knelt down even tighter and squeezed her knees against her body. It didn't stop the pain but it numbed it. She heard loud grumbling and squeezed her eyes together tightly. She was barely living anymore. She no longer had her health, possessions, identity. And to add to her misery, nature had stopped calling and now constipation was distressing her. She unexpectedly fell asleep or rather, fainted.

Unknown to her, a figure stood in front of her. The figure of her ex-best friend. Richard.

---WT---

Richard contemplated over what the mysterious person with the familiar voice had said to him. Kori did go to bed very early every night. At least 8pm. What could she possibly be doing in her room late at night? Richard wondered why he never thought of it before. And how did her parents die? They mysteriously disappeared one night and were found dead the next day. Richard was sure that his parents were in an accident but since he never got over his loss, he struggled to think about his parents. It caused him much grief. But one thing that made his brain go into overdrive was what the voice said first. 'She's alive'.

Richard stopped walking. _She is alive? _How could someone live through being burned alive at a stake? There hadn't been any witch burnings since Kori and he never saw the ashes that were her cremated body, he couldn't bare to look so he didn't. There's a slim chance that she is still there. Starving or starved. Dead or alive. Only one way to find out.

Richard turned and headed towards the island. It was already late and the matchstick girl was walking around in her cloak and scarf lighting the street lanterns. Richard wrapped his arms tighter around himself and quickened his pace. The others must be worried about him by now.

In his mind, terrible words echoed. Some which Kori said in the past which broke his heart, some said by the mysterious voice which condemned her as evil. Could it be right? Could Kori really have killed his parents? And her own? Kori may not have been a witch but maybe she did deserve to die.

---WT---

Raven set up her equipment and placed it in the centre of her wooden floor. The spell was ready. It didn't require much because the dead spirits cannot have much. As the sweet strong smell of incense seeped into the air, Raven sat cross-legged at one side of the ring of candles and hummed. She lost concentration as she realized how quiet it was. Why weren't the boys fighting anymore? She got up and walked downstairs to find Garfield and Victor cooking happily together. No fighting. And Raven was glad to see Garfield had abandoned his knife.

"Err… this is… awkward. What happened between you two?"

"We agreed on a trouse," said Victor cheerfully.

"Yeah… as long as _someone_ buys me a new waffle iron!"

There was a short silence. Raven decided to break it seeing the boys glare at each other and refuse to comment, "I was going to try to reach Kori," that didn't sound right. Saying 'Kori' didn't sound right anymore, "Do you want to come?"

They agreed and left the kitchen towards Raven's room. Once there, Raven commenced with the humming and chanting. The candles started to flicker, and Raven's eyes remained closed. The boys looked warily at the phenomenon. The incense holder stopped smoking and the holding started to rattle.

A face materialised in the centre of the candle circle. A ghost of a face, pale and tired looking. This was not right. "Normally the face looks full and colourful. She's supposed to be in heaven, she was a strong believer in Christianity, so why does she look so … wrong?" Raven asked the boys, not expecting any answer.

The face turned towards Raven, "I am not in heaven," Kori spoke.

"Then… you're … in … you know, the _other _place?" asked Victor unsurely.

"No. I am not dead. But I should be."

Everyone was surprised and not sure whether to show happiness or concern. They thought it over for a moment as they watched Kori's head warily move.

"Where are you? Are you at the stake?" asked Raven. The face looked certain and serious for a moment as if deep in thought.

"Yes," she answered after a pause.

"Still? Whoa, you must be hungry, it's been a month!" shouted Garfield.

"A long time," she mouthed with her eyes shut.

"Have you seen anyone? Like maybe… the vicar? Around there?" asked Garfield.

"No," she sighed, she suddenly got a spasm of pain and winced. A single tear ran down her cheek.

Raven, seeing the pain in her friends face quickly told her, "We'll help you, we'll go and find you."

"Thank … you." She breathed and disappeared.

---WT---

Richard reached the hill. He looked around. He had not been here for a long time. He called out into the night, "Where are you?"

A small voice answered him, "I am not in heaven."

He walked down a path to find Kori strapped to the stake. She looked like she was asleep, "I thought you were dead." He said to her.

"No. I am not dead. But I should be."

"You killed my parents. And your own. Were you planning to kill me too?" Richard asked cautiously.

"Yes," came the answer. Kori's head lulled to one side.

Richard was taken aback. His heart ached at the certainty of her answer. He would never have believed it unless if it came from her own lips. "For how long?" he breathed.

"A long time," she mouthed.

"I once loved you," Richard spat at her after a while, "Did you ever feel the same way about me?"

"No," he bent down beside her. Broken-hearted and distressed he picked up her head in between two of his fingers and looked at her. A single tear ran down her cheek.

"You have done so many wrong things with your life. You must have suffered terribly from the guilt and loneliness. I was wrong to think you loved me and now that I know the truth, I regret ever meeting you," he said, spite leaking from the words, "I can put an end to your misery. But there's only one way."

"Thank… you."

Richard heard some rustling behind him. He turned to see the vicar. Holding a shining dagger, with a golden handle and encrusted gems. "The same she used to kill her own mother. Ironic. Isn't it?" He handed the knife over to Richard and walked away at a quick pace. He knew that soon he would have more visitors. He wouldn't want to be seen.

Richard held the dagger in the palm of his hand. He glanced at the unconscious Kori and drew the dagger to seal her fate.

---WT---

Raven, Garfield and Victor ran across the bridge, Kori seemed very frantic, they wouldn't want to keep her waiting. They neared the island and walked surefooted on the pebbles. The stake stood on the top of the hill. Together they climbed till they saw over the top and gasped.

There knelt down was Richard with a dagger in his hand. By him was Kori, lifeless. And down the hill trickled a fine stream of continuous blood.


	14. The truth in the end

**Witch Trials **

Quite a lot of you voted on which ending you would like, read on and find out, as you may have noticed, I got rid of a half a chapter, hope you're not too confused.

**Chapter Thirteen – The truth in the end**

Clouds were gathering and rain fell freely to mourn upon the depressing scene. "Kori!" cried Raven running towards the figure by Richard's feet, she knelt down on the wet grass and bent over the girl with her hands poised. She paused, she didn't know what to do. It was all too sudden. Richard took action and pushed her hard. She skidded on the earth and bashed her shoulder against the stake. She groaned and sat up again with Kori by her side.

"What did you do?" demanded Garfield. He stepped in between the two girls and Richard and protectively held his arms out at full length. Victor soon joined him.

"She deserved it! And if you were to resurrect her, I'd be happy to kill her off again!" shouted Richard.

"What the heck did you do that for?" screamed Raven as she checked Kori's pulse. There was a slight beat but it was fading fast.

"I did what I had to do! I did what any good man would have done! I did exactly what she did to my parents! And her own," he screamed into the night.

"She killed no man!" argued Raven, by now, Victor and Garfield stepped aside a bit to let Raven and Richard see each other. In Richard they saw pure hatred within his cloudy eyes and anguish and revenge scrawled into his features. In Raven- Garfield and Victor saw sorrow, regret and distress along with abhorrence and revulsion. While Richard saw nothing but a gullible fool. Coincidently, that was all Raven saw in Richard.

"She killed two. As well as two women, and who knows how many more! If she had the time and opportunity, she'd have killed me too!" yelled Richard, his voice was getting hard to control and was cracking up, but was not weak or tiring. He did not notice but his heart ached and wept. It was heavy and raw.

"Who told you that?" asked Victor.

"It does not need to be told to be true."

Raven held Kori on her lap and looked at her deep wound implanted directly to the chest. She should have been dead within five minutes. Reaching out to her wound, Raven summoned up all of her powers to tend to the broken heart. Slowly and steadily, the stab mark was healing and the tissue renewing itself. Richard noticed what she was doing and ran towards her, Victor and Garfield made to stop him but he forward jumped over the two of them and made a perfect landing in front of Raven. Raven did not look up but she knew he was there. "Stand back!" she yelled.

"Don't you dare heal her, she deserves death and you resurrecting her will only bring about a second experience of death. Do you want her to suffer more than she had under guilt of murder?" asked Richard.

"What did she do to deserve death? What could she have possibly done to lead her to such agony?" asked Raven tears streaming down her cheeks as she finally looked up to look Richard in the face. His face remained spiteful and hard.

"She killed both my parents and her own, who wouldn't deserve death for such vile actions?"

"Dude, you are really messed up!" shouted Garfield regaining balance and turning towards Richard.

"She caused suffering to the point at which she begged to end her life. Me, being the merciful person I am, granted it. Hardly a messed up person to my opinion," spoke Richard.

Raven tended to healing the rest of the wound while Richard shouted more at the two men. Richard saw what she was doing but did not stop her. "It won't work you know," he spoke calmly and breathed deeply to regain his temper. There was silence. The wound was nearly healed to the point where only a scar remained but despite Raven pouring all of her effort and power into healing, Kori did not wake.

"Why won't she heal?" demanded Raven.

"Because her injuries are more than physical."

Raven understood. "What do you mean?" she asked acting confused, "and why did you do this to her?" she snapped staring out at him.

"Her injuries lie in her heart, she died of heartbreak not of the pain."

Raven stared at Kori and whispered just loud enough to hear, "She loved you."

"I loved her. She did not return the favour," Richard commented.

"She told me. When she thought the vicar would kill her. She told me everything," lied Raven. Richard just stared point blank at her, "Word for word, she said, 'I hope I live through this trial so I can talk to Richard again. I know that he has not been acting at all tactful lately but I trust him to do the right thing in the end,' she loved you. You broke her trust. You broke her heart."

Richard stared at her, he couldn't believe what she just said, tears were edging towards the rim of his eyes. He tried to hold them back, "What can I do?"

"The typical fairy tale ending. That always finishes of the story nicely."

---WT---

Little did the group know, someone had been watching them, from the moment the dagger entered Kori's heart. That very moment, that someone got the outcome they had hoped for. That someone was the vicar. Not only would a meddling nuisance of a girl be put out of the picture, but all of her powers would go to him.

But the other girl, Raven, was getting in the way. She was turning Richard to her side, to resurrect Kori. That would ruin months of planning, the vicar wouldn't have that. Using his newly found power of flight, he hovered over towards the hill and looked down at the scene. Richard was bent over Kori about to finish the story with a happy ending. "STOP! Boy, step back. The girl is mine!" he shouted, he startled everyone as they looked up at the cloudy night sky at the figure obscuring it. "Hand her over to me and you all shall be spared."

"You, you shouldn't be here. We're not going to give her up to you!" shouted Richard, he was shocked but he could see this coming before. Anyone could tell that the vicar wasn't a nice guy.

"I beg to differ. If I have to pull her from your cold dead grasp, I will! Or will you simply hand her over to me and live?" offered the vicar. He didn't wait for an answer. He swooped down on them and poised his hands for attack. Out of his fingers danced balls of shining green light, only one hit it's target, Victor. He was sent flying backwards down hill and was knocked out on impact. Garfield shouted his name and made to run to him when a starbolt just barely shot past him.

"_You're a wizard?" _Raven gasped loudly, "You malevolent hypocrite!"

"Why, not at all, my fair Raven. You see, I killed witches before I had the power I now possess. Nothing hypocritical about it," stated the vicar before he swooped upon Raven and aimed several starbolts.

Just as they were about to make impact, Raven flew off the ground and into the air, "But you see, you're not the only one who can fly." From behind the vicar, Garfield transformed into a hawk, "You had the wrong witch."

"Oh, I don't think so," the vicar spoke trying not to act surprised.

Richard was staring at the sight from below, if he had any common sense, he'd have done what he had to do while everyone was in the air but typically, he just watched from below.

Raven acted fast and enclosed the vicar in a bubble of ebony magic. "Richard, do it, NOW!" she shouted down. Richard hesitated, he wanted to see what they would do to the vicar.

The vicar threw a starbolt but it bounced off the side and into his side. He groaned and then stretched out his arms and legs and using his super strength, he broke the enclosure. Raven wanted answers, "How did you get the powers if you never had them before?"

"You will die before I tell you anything."

"That can be arranged," stated Garfield darkly, "Hang on, back track, can you repeat what you just said while I think up a come back?" squawked a Garfield in a parrot's body.

The vicar lunged towards the parrot and threw him down towards the hill.

Raven threw the vicar aside with a swipe of her powers but he got control back and flew higher up. She looked up at him as he loaded a starbolt to the size of a basketball. With a strong, sudden movement, the bolt came hurtling towards Raven. She was unconscious before she hit the ground.

The vicar landed a few feet away from Richard, "Had enough of the show?"

"I can't believe I trusted you," Richard coldly spat at the vicar. He unexpectedly jumped to the ground and delivered a swinging kick and got back in one smooth, fluid motion. He looked down as the vicar slowly regained awareness and chose that time to make his move.

Richard romantically swooned down by Kori's now completely lifeless body and gave her a gentle but quick kiss on her soft lips. He broke the kiss and looked down at her eyes and was happy to see her looking back into his. They stayed there looking at each other and then hugged and unintentionally rolled over together down half the hill giggling and grinning as they went.

Raven, Garfield and Victor chose that time to regain consciousness and they surrounded the vicar who was frantically trying to fly away but failing and getting snickers and smirks from the two boys. Raven just stared. Richard and Kori came to them and everyone hugged Kori.

Without warning, a pillar of fire appeared behind the vicar. Everyone shielded their eyes except the vicar who wear a look of dread and tiredness. Black eyes materialised in the midst of the flame. A voice spoke in a deep, commanding, familiar voice, "You have failed me. Leave me forever, you are not to look for me again." And as quickly as it came, it was gone. The vicar hung his head in shame.

"Who was that?" demanded Raven.

"I will not tell."

Raven raised one hand and summoned a flicker of black, "need I ask again?"

"That… was Trigon," Raven gasped.

"My father?" she paused, "tell me everything."

The vicar sighed but looking back at her hand, it was best not to argue. "I was ordered to harvest the magic of a young witch. I searched for years but could not find one."

"And if you refused?"

"I would be immediately killed. I could not find one, that is until her," he pointed at Kori. Everyone was shocked.

"Friends, I have not been truly honest with you. He is right. I am a witch, well, rather an alien. From a distant world, everyone there has these powers," she raised one hand and it glowed fluorescent green, she shut her fist and it vanished. Everyone's expressions grew more understanding as they acknowledged the facts.

"Did you... kill your parents? And mine?" asked Richard unsurely.

"What? No! I would never," replied Kori.

Everyone looked over at the vicar, no words needed to be said. He wasa vicious evil man. That was enough.

"But, that night. We heard a scream, we thought it was you, if you were tied up way over here then who screamed?" asked Victor.

"That was me also, I have a power to communicate to people while I sleep. I sent you dreams to tell each other you have your own powers."

"But how did you know about our powers?" asked Garfield.

"A blind person could tell from afar that there was something suspicious going on and a only a person who can watch other people's dreams can put two and two together. Now Richard, I must ask you. When I died, I looked down at you from above and saw you. Did you really love me?"

"I still do," Richard and Kori kissed passionately in each other's arms. Meanwhile, Raven levitated the vicar off the ground as he squirmed into an uncomfortable position.

Raven interrupted the mellow silence, "They need to forget," she said looking down at the village.

"Forget what?" asked Victor.

"I they think Kori's dead, it might seem a little strange to see her strutting around in her body. This should make them forget everything about witches. It would do them good to see some common sense."

She waved he arms around and chanted, she did it over and over and her expression grew more and more blank. As she muttered the last word, a blast of black echoed through the village and she blanked out and fell over. Into Garfield's arms. He started walking home bridal style and Richard looked over at Kori who giggled, Richard grabbed Kori and held her in a similar fashion. Victor walked at the back with the vicar in his grasp. They would deal with him later. For now, they would just enjoy their lives exactly how they are, in secrecy and suspicion from the rest of the village. Perfect.

The End


End file.
